Inking mechanism



1. WHITE. mxms MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3. I919.

Patented June 1, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Arms,

1. WHITE. INKING MECHANISM.

) APPLICATION FI LED JUNE 3, 1919.

Patehted June 1, 1920.

2 $HEETSSHEET 2- ATTYJI UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

JOSEPH WHITE, OF PISCATAWAY TOVJ' N SHIP, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HALL PRINT- IIN'G PRESS COMPANY, OF DUNELLEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

IN KING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1920.

Application filed June 3, 1919; Serial No. 301,491.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Piscataway township, State of New Jersey, postofiice address Boundbrook, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Inking Mechanisms; and I do declare the following to be a full, true, and exact description of said invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanisms for inking printing surfaces and particularly to arrangements suitable for presses in which the inking rollers must be confined within relatively small spaces and in which it is desired to obtain a very thorough distribution of the ink with a relatively few rollers.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a ductor arrangement by which ink is carried from the fountain roller to an ink receiving surface, such as the ink slab on the printing cylinder, so that the ink will be distributed somewhat before being applied to such surface. 7

Another object of my invention is to pro vide an ink roller pyramid in which the top roller of the pyramid may be driven by gearing arranged so as notto interfere with the shanks of the non-metallic rollers of the pyramid, while at the same time such gearing is not limited in size.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side eleva-.

tion of a portion of the inking mechanism of a printing press which I have adopted for purpose of illustration and in which I have embodied one form of my invention. 7 Fig. 2 is a portion of Fig.1 with some of the parts in changed positions. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the illustra tive inking mechanism with some of the parts broken away and others in section.

The corresponding parts are referred to both in the specification and'in the drawsupported in frames 12, 13 are the sockets 14, each adjustably supporting a form roller 15. Also supported in the frames12, 13, are the metallic distributer rollers 16 and 17 one of the metallic rollers 16 and two of the non-metallic form rollers 15 constituting an inking roller pyramid of the usual type w1th the rollers 15 adjustable so as to contact wlth the distributor roller l6and the printing surface or ink slab on the cylinder 10.

It has been usual heretofore'to drive the distributer roller 16 by a train of gearing comprising a gear on the shaft 11 and moving with the printing cylinder 10, a pinion on the roller 16 and an intermediate gear meshing with the other two gears and having 1ts center on the radial line connecting the center of the cylinder 10 and the center of the roller 16. It is obvious, however, that this gearing must be so constructed that the tops of the teeth of the intermediate pinion w1l-l not cut into the shanks of the rollers 15 even when such rollers are worn down to their smallest desirable size. As a result, when the rollers 15 are relatively small, this intermediate pinion becomes so smallas to be impractical, so far as ruggedness and durability are concerned. r

In order to overcome this difliculty, I provide an intermediate gear which surrounds the shank of one of the rollers 15, in which case it will be clear that the size of the pinion is no longer limited by the location of the shanks of the rollers.

In the construction illustrated, the gear on the cylinder 10 is shown at 18; 19 is the intermediate pinion and 20 the distributor pinion. The intermediate pinion 19 is mounted on a hollow journal 21 having an opening 22 through which the shank of the roller 15 may extend to'its socket 14:, 'The journal 21 is provided with a foot 23 which nal. As will be seen by an inspection of Fig. 1, the opening 22 is sufficiently large to clear the shank of the roller 15 as the latter is adjusted as it wears down in size. The openinv is also made large enough so that the roller 15 may be angled into and out of place without disturbing the journalZl or its support. I

The illustrative mechanism is also provided with an ink fountain 30 having the usual fountain roller 31 and the ratchet 32 and pawl 33 coupled with the usual arrangement by which the pawlis given a step-bystep motion to feed the ink from the fountain. The duetor roller 34 is arranged to carry the ink from the fountain roller 31 to the ink slab on the cylinder 10, but in my present invention I have provided an arrangement by which the ink as laid on this duetor roller34 by the fountain roller 31 is quite thoroughly distributed before it is laid on the ink slab.

To this end, in the illustrative form, I support the duetor roller 34 in levers 35, each of which is pivotally mounted on an arm 36 pivotally supported in the side frame on a shaft 37,- to which is connected a lever 38 which, through a link 39 and cam lever 40, receives motion from a cam 41 attached to the cylinder shaft 11.

Loosely mounted on the shaft 37 is a distributer roller 381 having a gear 391 attached' thereto. An idler pinion 401 meshes with gear 18 on cylinder 10. It will be seen that this gearing is so arranged that the distributer roller 381 is driven at the same surface speed as the printing surface of the cylinder 10.

The arms 36 and the levers 35 are so arranged that the duetor roller 34 is normally in contact with the distributor roller 381.. It is necessary, however, to disengage the duetor roller 34 from the distributor 381 when the duetor contacts with the fountain roller 31. As one convenient means for accomplishing this purpose, I provide the links 411 which are connected at either end to one end of the levers 35, and each of which passes through a puppet 42 in the side frame. A nut 43 is on the end of the rod 411 and is adjusted so that as the duetor roller is lifted upward from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1, the nuts 43 will contact with the puppets 42 and swing the rollers 35 around their centers to move the duetor roller 34'away from the distributer roller 381.

It will be seen that as soon as the duetor roller 34'moves from the position of Fig. 1 in its passage toward the position shown in Fig. 2, it will move away fromthe fountain roller 31 and simultaneously contact with the'distributer roller 381. It will remain in contact with this distribnter roller before contacting with the ink slab fora period controlled by the cam 41, and in order that this contact shall be sufliciently long to permit the narrow streak of ink which has been deposited on the duetor roller from the fountain roller to be thoroughly distributed, I retain this contact until the duetor roller 34 has made at least one turn and preferably has made several turns, or from another viewpoint, until the streak of ink deposited on the duetor roller has passed more than once the line of contact between the duetor roller 34 and the distributer 381. This means that the fresh supply of ink has been thoroughly distributed around the ductor roller before the latter touches the ink slab. Consequently, the ink is already well distributed before it contacts with the form rollers 15. The length of time for this contact, in the form illustrated, is the time in which the cam roller of the cam 41 is passing from the point 45 to approximately the point 46 on the cam 41.

It will be understood that the arrangement of my duetor roller which I have illustrated is only one of many forms in which my invention may be carried out, any arrangement to this end being satisfactory in which a duetor roller is first rolled in contact with a fountain roller to have a streak of ink deposited on its surface and then is so con tacted with the distributor roller as to distribute this streak of ink well over the surface of the duetor roller before the new supply of ink is applied to an ink-receiving surace.

lVhile I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to a printing press having a form cylinder, it will be understood that it is by no means limited to such a-structure. It is equallyapplicable to that form of press in which the form and ink slab are carried on flat beds, in which case the gearing for driving the various rollers might be a rack connected to such bed. It will also be understood that the specific mechanism for lifting and controlling the duetor lever may be varied within wide limits.

I claim 7 1. A fountain roller, a duetor roller, an ink-receiving member, means to move the duetor roller between the fountain roller and. the ink-receiving member to contact alternately with each, and a distributer rol ler ad jacent the path of the duetor roller, the ductor roller moving means being constructed and arranged to move said ductor roller out of contact with said distributor roller when the du-ctor roller is in contact with the fountain roller, and into contact with said dictribu-ter roller before said duetor roller contacts with said ink-receiving member.

2. A fountain roller, a duetor roller, an ink-receiving member, mean-s .to move the duetor roller between the fountain roller and the ink-receiving member to contact alterna tcly with each, and a distributer roller adj acent the path of the ductor roller, the duotor roller moving means being constructed and arranged to move said ductor roller out of contact with said distributer roller when the ductor roller is in contact with the fountain roller, and into contact with said distributer roller for a relatively long portion of the cycle before said ductor roller contacts with said ink-receiving member.

3. A fountain roller, a ductor roller, an ink-receiving member, a distributer roller adjacent the ink-receiving member, means to move said ductor roller between said fountain roller and said ink-receiving member around the center of said distributer roller as an axis with said ductor roller in contact with said distributer roller, and said ductor roller alternately contacting with said fountain roller and said ink-receiving member, and auxiliary means to move said ductor roller away from said distributer roller before said fountain roller is contacted.

4. A fountain roller, a ductor roller, an ink-receiving member, means to move the ductor roller between the fountain roller and the ink-receiving member to contact alternately with each, and a distributer roller adjacent the path of the ductor roller, means to rotate said distributer roller at the same surface speed as that of the ink-receiving member, the ductor moving means being constructed and arranged to move said ductor roller into contact with said distributer as said ductor is moved from said fountain roller to said member.

5. A fountain roller, a ductor roller, an ink-receiving member, means to move the ductor roller between the fountain roller and the ink-receiving member to contact alternately with each, and a distributer roller adjacent the path of the ductor roller, means to rotate said distributer roller at the same surface speed as that of the ink-receiving member, the ductor moving means being constructed and arranged to move said ductor roller into contact with said distributer as said ductor is moved from said fountain roller to said member, and to maintain such contact until said ductor has made at least one turn before said ductor reaches said ink-receiving member.

6. A fountain roller, a ductor roller, an ink-receiving member, a distributer roller adjacent the ink-receiving member, a pair of arms pivoted in the axis of said distributer roller, a pair of levers each pivoted on the end of one of said arms, said ductor roller being supported by said pair of levers, said levers and said arms being con structed and arranged to permit said ductor lever to contact with said distributer roller, means to move said arms to move said ductor between said fountain roller and said ink-receiving member, and auxiliary f means to turn said levers to move said ductor away from said distributer roller as said ductor contacts with said fountain roller.

7. A fountain roller, a ductor roller, an ink-receiving member, a distributer roller adjacent the ink-receiving member, a pair of arms pivoted in the axis of said distributer roller, a pair of levers each pivoted on the end of one of said arms, said ductor roller being supported by said pair of levers, said levers and said arms being constructed and arranged to permit said ductor lever to contact with said distributer roller, means to move said arms to move said ductor between said fountain roller and said ink-receiving member, and an adjustable stop to turn said levers to move said ductor away from said distributer roller as said ductor contacts with said fountain roller.

8. A moving surface, a distributer roller adjacent said surface, an inking roller contacting with said distributer and said surface, a driving gear moving with said surface, a driven gear connected to said distributer and an idler gear meshing with said driving and said driven gears, and a hollow journal for said intermediate gear, the end of said inking roller projecting through said journal and independent thereof.

9. A moving surface, a metal distributer roller adjacent said surface, a non-metallic roller contacting with said distributer and said surface, a driving gear moving with said surface, a driven gear connected with said distributer, an idler gear meshing with said driving and said driven gears, said idler gear extending around and independent of the end of said inking roller, a bearing for said idler gear having a central, opening therethrough, the end of said inking roller extending through said opening, said opening being large enough to permit said inking roller to be adjusted in relation to said distributer and said surface as said inking roller wears down in size.

10. A moving surface, a metal distributer roller adjacent said surface, a non-metallic roller contacting with said distributer and said surface, a frame at either end of said rollers, bearings for said rollers on said frames, a train of gearing inside said frames comprising a gear moving with said surface, a gear attached to said distributer and an idler meshing with said gears, said idler surrounding said inking roller between its body and its bearing, a journal for said idler connected to one of said frames and having 7 an opening therethrough large enough to permit said inking roller to be moved to 125 maintain contact with said surface and said distributer as it is reduced in size b wear.

JOSEPH TE. 7 

